Happy Birthday, Luna Lovegood
by potterlovegood
Summary: Not canon compliant. Takes place between Deathly Hallows and Half Blood Prince. Harry helps Luna celebrate her birthday.
1. Chapter 1

_**Happy Birthday, Luna Lovegood!**_

_This story was written prior to Deathly Hallows' release so it is now extremely AU. It was written as a pseudo-sequel to my previous stories Feeling Nimbus and Hsurbriah a fo tnaw ni (In Want of a Hairbrush), but you do not need to read either of those first to understand it. It takes place sometime after the end of Half Blood Prince. In my version; Hogwarts does not re-open for Harry's seventh year. With the help of his friends Harry has been searching for Horcruxs, but is currently lodging at the Burrow with Ron and Hermione. Luna's father has been killed and her home destroyed. She currently resides at Order Headquarters. Draco has surrendered himself to the order having switch loyalties after both his parents were killed. Because no one in the Order trusts him he is currently under house arrest at headquarters as well. There is no character bashing in my story, but if you don't like H/L, don't bother reading. Otherwise I hope you enjoy it, if so maybe you'll leave me a nice review with some helpful hints to improve my writing._

_Oh and by the way, I am not JK Rowling. These are not my characters, just my version of what happens to them. I take credit for nothing. Therefore I, unlike Jo, am poor._

_**Chapter One**_

Harry had had about all he could take of this. The sideway glances, the lovesick eyes, the holding of hands when they thought no one was looking, and now this; footsies under the table? It had gone too far. It was not that Harry was jealous or anything, well maybe a little jealous. But honestly, who did they think they were? This was almost as bad as when Ron was going out with Lavender Brown, minus the disgusting nicknames, of course it was only a matter of time.

Nope, that was it, Harry had had enough. He stood from the kitchen table, hoping by some slim chance they wouldn't notice. He wasn't so lucky.

"What's up mate? Don't you want to finish the game?" Ron questioned while still slightly distracted by what was apparently going on under the table. He and Harry had been playing a game of wizard chess. Harry of course knew immediately that something was not right with his friend when Harry was actually beating Ron.

Hermione, who was seated next to Ron (a bit too close, he might add), looked up curiously from the book she was _supposedly_ reading. Of course Harry had noted that she hadn't turned a page in over five minutes.

"Actually, I was thinking that I might pop over to Grimmauld Place. I have a few things I need to discuss with Remus." Harry replied.

"You want to go there now?" Hermione sounded a bit concerned, "What is so important that you need to talk to him _now_?"

"It's nothing really…I just had a few things I wanted to um—I don't know…ask him, alright?" The truth is Harry didn't really have anything he needed to talk to Rhemus about, and he was quite certain that Hermione knew this, but he was having trouble thinking of a legitimate excuse. All he knew was that he needed to get far away from these two love birds and as quickly as possible before he did something drastic like losing his dinner right here on the kitchen floor.

Hermione stared at him incredulously before replying, "Oh…well…okay then. Do you mind if I change before we go?"

"No!—I mean yes. Listen …I don't need… You don't have to come with me. I mean…it's no big deal, I don't want to bother you guys or anything…"

"Oh Harry, don't be silly we don't mind. Do we Ron?"

Ron gave Hermione a look that, in every way, suggested he minded. It took Hermione only a moment to realize why Ron was giving her a rather annoyed look.

"Well…" Hermione immediately added "I mean…if you really do have things to discuss with Professor …with Rhemus, and uh…you don't mind going by yourself. I mean, I do have plenty of reading to catch up on and Ron didn't you say earlier that you wanted help with…uh something?"

"Er—I did? Uh…oh…yeah! That's right, yeah…uh…thanks for reminding me 'Mione. I did need help with…er...uh something."

Harry chuckled to himself when he noticed a slight flush creep up the necks and cheeks of both his mates' faces which immediately caused him to ask;

"Oh, really Ron? What exactly did you need Hermione's help with?"

Harry noticed Ron's flushed expression turn quickly to one of sick horror. But his reply came rather quickly considering the spot Harry was certain he had put him in.

"My sock drawer!"

"Your sock drawer?" Harry asked skeptically.

"Er…yeah, that's right, my sock drawer."

"Your sock drawer?" This time it was Hermione asking, sounding completely dismayed at Ron's rather lame reply. But she recovered quickly "Um, I mean—that's right. Now I remember, Ron asked me earlier if I would help him organize his sock drawer. It's terribly messy, filled with mismatched socks and all."

"Yeah—that's right, what she said." Ron agreed nodding his head a bit too vigorously.

It took all of Harry's will power not to burst out laughing at the two of them, but he held himself together and was able to muster a reply. "Okay then. Well you guys sound like you're going to be a bit busy. So I'm just going to pop over to Headquarters for the evening."

Harry had another thought. "Actually, I think I'm going to go ahead and spend the night there as well" and then added, "seeing as I own the place, I guess I should bunk there once and awhile." This of course would prevent Harry from returning to the Burrow and perhaps walking in on the two of them during something other than sorting socks.

"Are you sure Harry?" Hermione and Ron both replied a bit more enthusiastically than Harry would have liked. Hermione quickly added "you don't have to stay there just because you own the place Harry."

"Uh—yeah, I know. But I want to…you know…for a change of scenery and all."

"Oh—okay," said Hermione, who at this point didn't seem to care what Harry's excuse was,"but Harry, I would suggest you floo there rather than apparate. That way you can go directly to the kitchen. You don't want the chance of being spotted outside Headquarters while you wait for someone to let you in, I think Mrs.Weasley would insist on it anyway."

Setting up the floo connection between Headquarters and the Burrow had been one of the last things that Professor Dumbledore had done for the Order, that, and making Tonks the new secret keeper of Grimmauld Place.

"Harry, you are going to let Mrs. Weasley know that you are going, aren't you?"

Harry hadn't thought about having to tell Mrs. Weasley his plans, not that it was really any of her business in the first place, but she would definitely throw a fit if Harry didn't tell her. He only hoped she wouldn't nix the whole idea all together. He wasn't kidding when he said he needed a change of scenery.

"Er…do you guys have any idea when she might be getting back?"

Ginny and her mother had accompanied Neville to St. Mungo's to visit his parents late in the afternoon. Apparently Neville's Gran was feeling a bit under the weather, and since Neville hadn't felt like going alone, Mrs. Weasley offered to go with him. Ginny went along because, as she put it, "it gave her something to do". Of course Harry had noted that Neville seem rather pleased with the whole arrangement and Ginny certainly wasn't complaining either. Well they must be having a good time anyway because Mrs. Weasley flooed to say they were meeting up with Mr. Weasley at the Leaky Cauldron and were planning on having dinner with Fred and George at their shop in Diagon Alley. Thus leaving Harry, Ron and Hermione to take care of themselves for dinner. If Harry had had enough sense about him, he would have left for Headquarters _before_ dinner, leaving Ron and Hermione long before the footsie stuff started.

"I would image they should be back anytime, she flooed over an hour ago. How long can dinner take?" Ron had interrupted Harry's thoughts.

"You should probably wait around until they return Harry. Just to make certain it is alright you leaving and everything." Hermione said rather grimly to Harry's surprise. There was no way he wanted to wait around to have to convince Mrs. Weasley why he really _needed_ to go to Headquarters at this time in the evening.

"Listen, Ron, I'd really like to get going. Would you mind telling your mum where I'm off to?" Harry pleaded perhaps a little too earnestly. Harry figured if he got out before the Weasleys returned they couldn't put a stop to his plans.

"Well,,,Er—yeah, I suppose we could." Ron replied hesitantly.

"Great mate! You're the best. Well—I better get my stuff and get going."

Harry dashed up to his room or at least the room he was using while staying at the burrow. It had been the twin's old room, but one would never have been able to tell. It was now pretty much filled with all of Harry's stuff, both from his days at his Aunt and Uncle's house as well as all his school things. Of course, it's not like Harry had a lot of things, but he still managed to fill the room and make it look like he had been living there for years. In some ways it felt like he had been. His days on Privet Drive now seemed like ages ago and that was just fine with Harry. The quicker he forgot about that place _and_ its occupants the better.

Harry stuffed his old school bag with some overnight gear and a change of clothes for the next day. He than headed back down to kitchen only to _catch_ Ron and Hermione by surprise; as he reached the bottom of the steps he caught the two of them sitting awfully close, practically on top of one another. Of course when they spotted Harry they moved away from each other rather quickly and for the second time this evening both looked a bit flushed.

"Oh…well—that was awfully quick" Hermione said in a very raspy voice.

"Yeah—well, uh… I guess I best be going. Have fun—uh _sorting socks_ tonight." Harry added as he stepped towards the fire in the kitchen hearth and grabbing a handful of Floo powder from the flower pot on the mantle. With his bag over his shoulder and his wand ready in his other hand (upon Mad-Eye Moody's insistence of "_constant vigilance_" they were all required to have their wands in hand as they traveled from one location to the next) Harry released the handful of powder and immediately felt that familiar sucking feeling taking hold of his entire body.

Because the connection between the two homes was not within the realm of the Ministry's Floo Network, Harry was not able to say his intended destination out loud, rather he just had to think about Headquarters and he was automatically sucked from one fire to the other.

Harry, over the last year or so, had become an expert at Floo powder travel; he was now able to exit the Floo in a full upright position with very little mess. Of course ever since he passed his apparition test last summer, apparating had been his preferred method of travel. But Hermione was right; it did make more sense to just Floo right into the kitchen at Headquarters than apparating onto a deserted street in the heart of London.


	2. Chapter 2

_Still don't own it. JK Rich, me poor. Chapter Two; hope you enjoy._

_**Chapter Two**_

As Harry stepped out of the fire at Grimmauld Place, he noted that the kitchen was unusually quiet. The place was completely empty. Which seemed rather odd to Harry, as it was only a little past the dinner hour and Dobby, who usually spent most of his evenings in the kitchen, was nowhere to be seen. Normally at this time he would be busy cleaning up from dinner and getting ready for the following days meals. For that matter the place appeared to have been unused for quite sometime. There were no dishes or leftover pots from dinner or any kind of evidence that anyone had eaten there at all this evening.

A bit tentatively and with his wand still in hand, Harry headed out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the upper floors. From the step he was just able to make out the slightest sound coming from the floor above, it almost sounding like humming. At the top of the steps Harry stopped. It was definitely humming he heard and it was coming from the drawing room. The door to the room was only slightly ajar and Harry could see a faint flickering light, like that coming from a fire in the hearth.

Harry tentatively pushed the door to the room open a bit further so that he could peer in. There stretched out on the floor in front of a crackling fire, in what appeared to be a pair of men's pajama bottoms and an oversized t-shirt, was none other than Luna Lovegood. She seemed completely relaxed lying there on the floor humming a soft tune that sounded a bit like "Weasley is our King", she was twirling her wand in hand above her head and staring quite blankly at the ceiling. What surprised Harry the most about this scene was not the humming nor the wand twirling or the staring. These were all about par for the course when it came to Luna. But rather it was the small goblet balanced on Luna's stomach and what appeared to be a dusty liqueur bottle on the floor next to her.

Harry cleared his throat before croaking out…"Luna?" The wand twirling stopped and Luna immediately propped herself up on her elbows, lifting her head so that large silvery eyes turned to meet striking emerald ones.

"Oh, hello Harry…have you been there long? I didn't hear you come in," Luna replied in her usual dreamlike voice.

"Err…no. I just got here as a matter of fact. Um…so uh…where is everybody?

"Well…, let's see, Miss Tonks is on duty tonight with the Auror's, Professor Lupin is on some Order business that he did not feel the need to go into detail about, Master Draco, as to be expected, is in his room probably moping about his lot in life and… umm… let's see…oh yes, and today is Sir Dobby's day off. I am not quite certain where he is off to though. As for the other members who frequently stop by, I cannot tell you of their whereabouts. Was there anyone in particular that you were hoping to see? Because I'm afraid it is just me this evening, unless, of course you wish to visit Draco in his room."

"Uh…no, that's alright. There was no one in particular really. I mean I thought I might get a chance to see Remus, but mostly I just needed to get away from the Burrow for awhile that's all."

"Hmm…was three getting to be too much of a crowd, Harry?"

"Yeah, something like that." Harry chuckled; there was no denying that Luna was more observant than most gave her credit for. And for as long as Harry had known her she had never had a problem stating the truth, no matter how painful. Although it was once a disconcerting feature, it had now become one of the many things he had grown to appreciate about the girl.

Harry then remembered the small goblet that was still balanced on Luna's stomach. "Er…Luna, what are…were you doing…um…before I came in?"

Luna followed Harry's eyes down to the goblet perched precariously on her midsection. "Oh well, you see I was just celebrating my first bit of legal magic is all. I would have preferred a bottle of butterbeer or gillywater, but since we seem to be fresh out of both I had to settle for this." She reached over and picked up the rather dusty bottle at her side tipping it gently and filling the goblet, so carefully balanced on her, with an amber liquid. She then removed the goblet from her waist and set it on the floor next to her. Harry watched with great curiosity until something dawned on him.

"Uh—Wait a minute, what do you mean you were celebrating your first bit of legal magic?"

"Well, it's my seventeenth birthday today, and I thought I might try something a bit spectacular to ring in the occasion." Luna gestured towards the ceiling. Harry looked up in the direction Luna was pointing. And there, to his great surprise, was a gapping hole in middle of the ceiling, a hole so big the night sky appeared directly above them. At first he could not believe his eyes, but then he realized something; it couldn't possibly be a hole in the ceiling, otherwise he would be able to see through to the floors above him, but this hole shown only the sky above. "Wow, its like—"

"The Great Hall, yes, only not on the same scale. I wasn't exactly certain how it would turn out considering that there were floors above—Oh, Harry I hope you are not angry with me? I know your Godfather left this house to you—I can transform it right back…"

"What…?" Harry tore his eyes from the night sky to see Luna on the floor with a look of concern on her face. "No, no…I love it Luna! It's brilliant! Really! It _is_ just like at Hogwarts. How'd you do it?" Harry had again returned his gaze to the ceiling. It was completely mesmerizing.

"Well…it was quite simple really. Once I was able to decipher the notes and all."

Harry, tearing himself again from the night sky, looked at Luna. "The notes?"

"Yes. Harry, you did know the ceiling in the Great Hall is only an enchantment, a combination of both Transfiguration and Charms incantations?"

Harry nodded, he remember Hermione mentioning something about this in his first year. "Yeah, it says so in _Hogwarts, a History_." Not that he had ever read it.

"Did you also know that the enchanted ceiling is a relatively new addition to the Great Hall?" Harry shook his head incredulously, was Luna about to go into one of her strange conspiracy theories or a story about Nargles in the mistletoe. "No really," she replied when she noticed the look of doubt on his face, "it was only transformed some fifty years or so ago, by a student actually."

"Really?" Again, Harry looked at Luna with much skepticism on his face.

"Oh yes, a student performed the enchantment as part of her NEWT Transfiguration exam, and Professor Dumbledore, who was the Transfiguration teacher at the time, found it to be such a brilliant piece of magic that he convinced the Headmaster to leave it that way."

"That's kind of like the swamp Fred and George's made in my fifth year, but much cooler of course. Luna, how did you find out about all of this? Is that in _Hogwarts, a History_?

"I don't rightly know if it is or isn't. But actually, it was Professor Dumbledore who told me about it and he is the one who gave me the notes that were used to perform this bit of magic. He thought I might be interested in having them considering the student was my mother and all—"

"What—It was your mother who enchanted the ceiling in the Great Hall?" Luna nodded. "Luna, that…that is amazing! Fantastic … I mean… how come you…never told me that before?"

"Well, I haven't really told anyone that before, well until now that is."

"Luna…I can't believe—wait a minute…you said that the ceiling was enchanted some fifty years ago?'

"Fifty-two, to be exact, that's how long ago mum would have left Hogwarts."

"But Luna, that would make your mother like fifty… something…when you were b…"

"Fifty-two Harry, yes, she was fifty-two years old when I was born. It really isn't that old for a witch really. Many witches have had children that late in life. I guess the odd thing is that I was her first child, first and only. Mum didn't think she could get pregnant. It wasn't until dad and she had pretty much resigned to the fact that they would be childless that mum found out she was pregnant with me. Dad credits my arrival with the full moon that occurred on the night of my conception; hence my name. They both considered me their miracle child given to them from the heavens above." Luna paused in thought and then looked at Harry and smiled, "I suppose this is more information than you wanted to know about me, isn't it Harry Potter?"

"No…um really, it's quite fascinating" Harry managed to say, but was actually feeling a bit uncomfortable with this new bit of knowledge regarding Luna. Then something else occurred to him; "Luna, I'm such a git! Today is your birthday."

"Yes, I know."

"No, I mean I didn't know today was your birthday…"

"But I just told you Harry."

"Well, that's it, you _just_ told me. Does anyone else know today is your birthday?"

"Well, my parents would if they were alive and the healer that delivered me and I suppose someone at Hogwarts might have known since they sent…"

"No Luna, I _mean,_ have you told anyone else besides me that today is your birthday?"

"Have I told anyone other than you? No of course not, Harry" Luna replied serenely.

"Luna, why didn't you tell anyone it was your birthday? You should _not_ be spending your birthday alone. You should…"

"Harry, it's quite alright really. I've spent all my birthday alone, well at least since I started at Hogwarts that is. I'm quite use to it actually. Normally, when I was at Hogwarts, I would just get a butterbeer from the kitchens in the evening and then sneak up to the Astronomy Tower to celebrate by myself. It was quite pleasant really, being up so high.—"

Harry felt a pang in the pit of his stomach, the thought of Luna spending her birthdays alone. Who was Harry kidding? He had spent almost all of his birthdays alone, and although he would have rather have been with his friends, being by himself in his room was far better than having to spend time with the Dursleys.

Luna must have noticed the look on his face because she replied;

"Honestly, solitude is so unappreciated these days. It is not such a bad thing to spend one's birthday by oneself, really. I mean it is _my_ birthday isn't it, who else but myself should I want to spend it with?"

"How about your friends for one…"

"Well, I never have been very well endowed in that area, at least not while I was at Hogwarts."

"Maybe not, but you have friends _now_…friends who would have like to have known it was your birthday so that they…so that _we_ could have helped celebrate it with you.

"Don't be silly Harry. Everyone is much too busy now to be worrying about my birthday."

"I don't think that's true, Luna." Luna only shrugged. And Harry had a thought. "Listen Luna, would you mind if _I_ joined you tonight to help celebrate your birthday?"

Luna turned her large eyes on him and replied. "If it is because you are pitying me Harry Potter, than no thank you. Because I know for a fact that there are _other,_ more important, things than my birthday you should be concerning yourself with right now."

"It is not out of pity Luna. It is because you are my friend and I would like to spend your birthday with you. And the truth is I need a break from _those_ other things you are talking about. Honestly there isn't any place I'd rather be right now than _here_ celebrating your birthday with you." And Harry meant it.

Luna smiled in her dreamy way and replied, "Oh well, in that case I should conjure up another goblet then."

"Sounds great. So what are we drinking?" Harry asked sitting down on the floor next to Luna as she flicked her wand causing another small goblet to appear next to the first. Harry was momentarily impressed at how easily Luna had done this.

"Firewhiskey. It's the only thing, other than pumpkin juice, I could find. And pumpkin juice really did not seem appropriate for such an occasion."

"No, definitely not" said Harry as Luna filled the second goblet with the amber colored liquid from the dusty bottle and handed it to Harry.

It was then that Harry realized he had never actually tried Firewhiskey before. Holding the goblet at eye level he stared blankly at it and as though reading his mind Luna replied;

"The first one burns a bit, but after that it goes down quite nicely, if I do say." Harry looked dubiously over his glass to the girl sitting next to him who sprightly lifted her own goblet and tapped it gently on the side of Harry's and said in a very theatrical sort of way,

"May we live to learn well, and learn to live well." Luna then proceeded to tip her head back and pour the contents of her goblet down her throat. Harry quickly followed suit. Only to realize that Luna had not been kidding when she said the first one burns. Harry only barely managed to keep the fiery liquid down. And before he knew what was happening Luna was filling up his goblet again.

"This time you make the toast Harry."

"Uh…er…" Harry honestly didn't think he even had a voice to toast with but with a raspy voice he managed to blurt out "To Luna, on her birthday!" Holding up his goblet to tap Luna's he noticed she was staring at him with a look of disappointment.

"The sentiment was sweet, but the content was a bit weak, wouldn't you say Harry?"

"Sorry, but you put me on the spot, I'm not really very good on the spot."

"Oh, I know the perfect toast for that…" Luna cried out before chanting with her goblet raised

"_I used to know a clever toast,  
But now I cannot think it,  
So fill your glass to anything,  
And damn your souls, I'll drink it!"1_

Harry busted out laughing. "Hey, I liked that one." And then tentatively took a sip of his second gobletful of Firewhiskey.

"Harry, I told you it gets better the more you drink, but you have to swig it. No sipping. My birthday, my rules." Luna sounded just a bit like Ginny.

"Er…right." He said and did as he was told, tipping the contents of his goblet to the back of his throat. Not as bad, this time, he noted. He quickly held his goblet up for a refill. And Luna readily obliged, and then filled her own. When she was done Harry, still holding his goblet up said, "Okay I think I have one…

_Here's to you, as good as you are,_

_And here's to me, as bad as I am;_

_But as good as you are, and as bad as I am,_

_I am as good as you are, as bad as I am._ "1

"Good one Harry!" Luna said before both swigged the contents of their goblet. She quickly refilled them once again and then said, "how about this one…

_Here's a health to you and yours _

_who have done such things for us and ours._

_And when we and ours have it in our powers to do for you and yours _

_what you and yours have done for us and ours, _

_Then we and ours will do for you and yours _

_what you and yours have done for us and ours.__"1_

"Er…right. Was I supposed to understand that? It sounds very much like something a Ravenclaw would say."

"Wit beyond measure…"

"Right…just so long as you're not going to make me repeat that toast Luna."

"No Harry, just drink to it."

And that he did .

_zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz  
1-All are very old Irish Toast. I did not write them, only borrowed them._

_Please review, if you like._


	3. Chapter 3

_Still not my characters, but here is chapter three anyway._

_**Chapter Three**_

As the night progressed Harry and Luna had moved themselves up off the floor and onto the large but rather worn settee by the windows. And their toasts had come only intermittently between conversations about various things; like their favorite foods, or about what they liked best about when they were at Hogwarts, and their favorite Quidditch teams, and Quidditch players (Luna's favorite, of course, was Harry). They laughed about Luna's commentary at the Hufflepuff/Gryffindor Quidditch game, and about Harry getting hit with one of the beater's bats by his own player. They talked about their childhoods, Luna telling Harry everything she could remember about her mother and Harry telling Luna about living in a cupboard under they stairs. Which Luna found most fascinating. Harry told her about how his Aunt and Uncle thought he was a freak and Luna burst out laughing, which left Harry completely baffled until Luna explained herself.

"Harry if they thought you were a freak, what would they think about me? I'm the freakiest of freaks." This made Harry grin uncontrollably, thinking of Luna meeting his relatives and what they would think of her.

"Luna, someday I am going to take you to meet my Aunt and Uncle."

"Promise?"

"Promise." The thought of that encounter filled Harry with a great amount of mirth.

And so the evening went on like this until the bottle of Firewhiskey was exhausted and the fire in the hearth was nothing more than embers and Harry and Luna were completely inebriated.

Harry managed to raise his goblet one last time. "Ones more toast I say…

_May we get what we want,  
May we get what we need,  
But may we never get what we deserve."_

"Harry…"

"Yessss Luna…"

"Harry…"

"Ummm Luna…"

"Harry…"

"Uh huh Luna…"

"I...uh…forgot what I was going to say…oh wait… right…we are all out of Firewhiskey."

"Are you ssssssurrrrre…?"

"What?"

"No more Firewhiskeeeee?

"Right."

"No."

"Yes."

"Noooo…"

"Yeeeeeesss…"

"Nooooooooooooooo…"

"Harry?"

"Yes?"

"Oh, you said yes."

"Right."

"What?"

"Huh?"

"You said yes"

"No"

"Harry, I think I'm..uh…what is it they say? Pissed?"

"Luna, I think you're right."

"Harry, I don't think I've ever felt like this before"

"Me either Luna"

"I'm _so_ sleepy Harry—but I don't think I can get up to go to bed."

"That's okay Luna; just put your head in my lap and you can sleep here." Harry pulled Luna towards him as Luna lowered her head on to his lap.

"Hmmm, this is nice Harry. Thank you."

"Yeah, er…you're welcome Luna."

Harry felt himself sobering just a bit as he look down at the blonde girl with her head in his lap. He noticed how her waist long hair fell to her side pooling behind her on his lap. Scooping it up in his hands he gentle stroked her locks so that they now cascaded down her back. He was amazed at how silky her hair felt as it slipped between her fingers.

He froze when he heard Luna softly sigh. "Mmmm, that feels nice Harry."

"Er…sorry, I thought you were asleep." Luna slowly sat up and Harry instantly missed the weight and the warmth on his legs.

"Oh its okay Harry, it reminded of when my fath…" Luna stopped in mid sentence staring for what seemed an eternity into Harry's eyes until she shook herself free from the gaze. Harry immediately noticed a slight blush creep across Luna's cheeks as she quickly looked away from him.

"It reminded you of what, Luna?"

"No, it was…I…no, it was nothing" Luna gentle shook her head causing a bit of her hair to fall in front of her face. Harry instinctually reached out to push it back slightly grazing the side of Luna's face with the tips of his fingers as he did so. Luna's hand immediately shot up and took hold of Harry's hand pulling it away. Her blush intensified.

"Luna…I"

"I'm sorry Harry, I …I should really go to bed now." Luna move to go, but Harry could tell she was embarrassed. In all the time that Harry had known Luna he had never seen her like this.

"Luna…wait." He caught hold of her hand before she stood up. He was holding Luna's hand. He knew that he had held her hand before. Where? Oh right, Slughorn's party. But this was the first time he had really noticed her hand. How small and delicate it was in his. He couldn't help staring at it and gently stroking it, like he had done with her hair.

"Harry?" Harry looked up into Luna's misty eyes, in them he could see the reflection of what remained of the fire burning in the fireplace. They danced with the small flickers of the flames from the embers.

"Listen Luna…er…I …I just wanted to say. I…I had fun tonight and I hope you did to. I hope you had a happy birthday."

The blush Harry had noticed was fading and now Luna was beaming. "Oh yes Harry, I had a perfectly lovely time. It really was one of the best birthday's I can remember in a _very_ long time."

"I'm glad, Luna. I really am."

"Oh…well thank you Harry, thank you so very much for helping me celebrate it. I think I'm feeling more sober now."

"Yeah, me too"

"So I guess I should head up to bed." Luna made to get up, but Harry could tell she was a bit wobbly on her feet.

"Here Luna, let me help you." He had meant to stand and help steady her, but as he stood he realized, much too late, that he was also not stable on his feet. Losing his balance, he fell forward grabbing on to Luna's shoulders as he did so and pushing her down the length of the settee landing completely on top of her.

Although Harry immediately realized the precarious position they were in, he did not move to get off of her, but rather he froze. At that very moment every nerve in his body was tingling and all he could think about was the feeling of Luna's body underneath him. She was small framed yet Harry could make out the shape of a very feminine body. The swell of her breasts pushing into Harry's chest caught his breath, her slender legs tangled around his, her delicate shoulders that he so desperately clung to, her long elegant neck and the outline of her graceful jaw, her small dainty ears, earring less tonight, and her soft pouty pink lips. Her lips, Luna's lips; he didn't think he could take his eyes off of them, but when he finally did his eyes wondered up to large protuberant eyes staring at him with great surprise.

"Harry? Are you….are you going to get off me?"

"I…I…I don't think so, Luna." His heart was racing and honestly he didn't think he could move. Right now he could think of doing only one thing.

"Oh dear Harry, are you hurt?

"Er…no."

"Oh my, perhaps an Ebriusplecti has gotten hold of you, they say they are attracted to the smell of sweet wines, but maybe they were confused by the Firewhiskey."

"What's a…I mean, no Luna, it is not an Ebriusthingy."

"Are you sure?" Harry nodded in response.

"Well, do you need me to help you? I think I can push you off." Her voice was filled with concern.

"No, Luna. I…it's not that I can't get off, I…I don't want to get off." He had no idea why he said that. "I mean…not yet, please." Why did he sound like he was begging? "Luna…" his voice caught and he had to clear it before he could start again. "Luna, can I…can I?" Harry thought perhaps he was losing his mind. He couldn't talk, he couldn't move, he could only think of one thing

"Yes, Harry?"

"I…I would like, I mean I want…Luna can I give you a birthday kiss." Yes, he had said it!

Luna stared at him blankly for a moment before replying, "Yes, I suppose that would be alright." She turned her head as if to offer Harry her cheek. But that is not at all what Harry wanted.

He cocked his head to the side and gently pressed a kiss on the corner of Luna's mouth. She immediately turned in surprise, allowing Harry to kiss her full across the lips. It was not a crushing kiss, but tender and sweet and yet it still made his entire body go into sensory overload. He couldn't stop himself even though he knew that he had caught Luna by surprise. She hadn't responded at first, but when he kissed her again with a bit more pressure this time he felt her small hand slip through his hair at the back of his neck.

Oh yes!

Entirely encouraged now, he relaxed a bit as he continued to kiss her more and more passionately, grasping her upper lip between his lips and gently tugging and then repeating with her lower lip, he heard her respond with small whimpers. Slowly he began slipping his tongue between her lips until she opened her mouth, as he had hoped, just enough. His tongue first grazed her teeth and then the tip of her own tongue. His senses were reeling now.

He couldn't hold still. He allowed his hand to wandering off her shoulders down across her silky soft arm. He moved it further down to her sender waist where he found the bottom edge of her shirt, all the while he continued his assault on her mouth, Merlin, how good she tasted!

Slowly, and agonizingly so, he slipped his hand under her shirt. He did not want to scare her, but he wanted so desperately to feel her and touch her; everywhere. He gently moved his hand across her flat smooth stomach, where earlier she had balanced goblets. At the same time Harry also moved his kisses from her lips to her jaw to her earlobe, to her neck, tasting her, wanting her. His hand slid farther up her shirt until the tips of his fingers made contact with the swell of her breast.

Harry froze again. He thought he was going to explode. His lips were now pressed against the nape of her neck. But during all of this, Harry wanted to make sure that Luna was okay. It had occurred to him that Luna had not really responded at all to the movement of his hands.

Reluctantly, Harry lifted his head, pulling away from her neck to look at her. He noticed her eyes were closed and soft smile was spread across her face. Her breathing was even and rhythmic. "Luna?"

There was no response.

Again more tentatively, but a bit louder, he repeated "Luna?"

Again, no response. Harry moaned to himself.

Luna had fallen asleep.

With all his senses buzzing with desire for her, he stared down at the angelic sleeping girl—woman. He carefully lifted himself off Luna and rolled to his side between her and the back of the settee. As soon as he had done this, Luna rolled to her side facing Harry and pressing herself gently into him. Her warm breath across his chest sent shivers to every part of his body.

Harry wasn't sure what to do. Luna was obviously comfortable and moving off the settee would only wake her. But was lying here so close to her really the best thing to do? Yet she felt so warm and nice against him. He really didn't want to move. He laid his head down and after a few moments of contemplating his options he realized that at this moment the best choice was allowing himself to succumbed to exhaustion and in no time at all Harry, too, drifted off to sleep.

_zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz  
Ebriusplecti – hey, that's mine. I made that up. But since I do not have a copywrite on it, I guess it is still up for grabs. Darn. Reviews are a lovely gift, if you don't know what to give._


	4. Chapter 4

_Finally the end and I still own nothing. Oh well. Hope you have enjoyed._

_**Chapter Four**_

_Harry was standing at the entrance of a cave. As he peered inside he noticed it was completely dark, he could see nothing, yet he knew that he had to enter. His feet would not move. But he knew he had to go forward. Then he heard the voice; soft and dreamlike._

"_Go ahead Harry, you are not alone."_

"_But it is so dark; I won't be able to see where I am going. And I can't use my wand because I must keep it ready for the attack."_

"_Don't worry Harry, you will be able to see fine. Now go do what you must do."_

_Reluctantly Harry stepped into the cave. And sure enough, even though all around him was dark he could see perfectly fine. He continued walking until he came upon what he was looking for. There ahead of him stood a great snake like man with horrible red eyes. Harry braced himself while raising his wand out in front of him. _

"_Your time on this earth has come to an end Tom."_

"_Well—we will just have to see how powerful you really are boy, won't we?" The serpent man hissed at him. _

_Harry felt his wand shake and somewhere, perhaps from in him, he heard the shout of a great magical curse, yet a curse he had never heard before. _

_Harry had expected a green flash of light to come from his wand, but what irrupted out of his wand was the most beautiful and yet blinding light Harry had ever seen. It flashed before him with such great speed and force that Harry stumble back, but remained standing. When the light disappeared, the serpent man had been reduced to nothing more than a pile of ashes, Tom Marvolo Riddle was dead._

_At that moment Harry realized he was not alone. Someone was standing next to him. Someone was holding his hand. It was than that he realized it was Luna who was with him._

"_See, I told you , you would not be alone."_

Harry woke with a start. It took him a few moments to realize where he was; still on the settee in the drawing room of Grimmauld Place, with Luna Lovegood curled up at his side.

It must have been early morning, because Harry could see the haze of the early morning light streaming down from the enchanted ceiling above.

The fire in the hearth was extinguished and Harry noted that the empty liquor bottle and goblets had been removed from the floor where they had left them the night before and that someone had covered Luna and him with a large very old green duvet.

Harry once again felt Luna's warm breath across his chest. He looked down at the blonde sleeping next to him and then he thought about the dream he had just awoke from.

_He had killed Voldemort. _

It was the first dream that he could remember where he had actually killed him. Usually his dreams consisted of him watching someone die or him running away. But this time he had actually killed him. And then he thought about Luna standing next to him. Luna had been with him. She said he would not be alone. And he wasn't, she had been with him.

The thought filled him with such a sense of comfort and love, a love like he could never remember _ever_ feeling before and with smile on his face he wrapped his arms around Luna, pulling her closer to him and, after a few moments lost in his thoughts, he once again slipped back to sleep. Silently hoping to return to the part of that dream where Luna was standing at his side holding his hand.

When he awoke again, he noted that the room was much brighter, indicating that it was now, definitely, morning. He also quickly realized that the warm body that had been next to him was gone. A great sense of disappointment and loss filled him. Harry had never before slept so closely next to someone, but he was very much aware of how much he missed the sensation when it was gone. He also thought about what Luna must have been thinking when she slipped out of his embrace without waking him.

Harry quickly tossed the old duvet that was still covering him onto the floor and heading out of the drawing room to look for Luna. When he reached the first floor landing, he could distinctly make out the smell of coffee. Harry tentatively made his way down to the kitchen wondering what he was going to say her when he saw her.

But it was not Luna he needed to worry about when he entered the basement kitchen.

"Wotcher, lover boy!" Tonks greeted him, a little too enthusiastically Harry thought, as he pushed the door open and stuck his head inside to get a look around. She was seated at the table across from Remus Lupin, who had a rather awkward grin on his face. Luna was nowhere to be seen. "D'you and Miss Luna have a good time last night?"

"Er..yeah. Er…why?" Harry answered reluctantly as he entered the kitchen and took a seat at the table next to Remus. Harry got the feeling that Tonks was about to take the mickey out of him.

"No reason, no reason. Remus and I just didn't realize you were a couple is all, and a rather cute one I might add."

"Uh…what? No, we're _not_ a couple—" not that Harry would have minded if they were at this point.

"Well, you could have fooled us the way you were all cozied up on the couch. And what was with the bottle of Firewhiskey and all. It looked like you might have been celebrating or _something_?"

"Actually, we _were_ celebrating something. Yesterday was Luna's seventeenth birthday."

"What? Why didn't you tell anybody? Remus, did you know it was Luna's birthday?" Remus shook his head. Harry interrupted.

"Listen, _I_ only found out about it yesterday. I just happened to stop by and found Luna …er…celebrating by herself. I joined her so she wouldn't have to…uh …celebrate alone." Harry was silently thankful that this bit of news had completely sidetracked Tonks to the fact that she had found Luna and him asleep together.

"Well, why didn't she tell anyone? I could have gotten off duty last night, and Remus certainly could have stayed home and surely Molly would have made her a cake." The way Tonks was ranting, Harry could tell that she had been spending too much time with Hermione.

"I dunno, she seemed to think everyone had more important things to worry about besides her birthday."

"How could she think such a thing, with all she's done for you and the Order and all of us; that we wouldn't want to help celebrated her birthday?" Tonks stood from the table and with a flick of her wand she cleared the coffee cups that were in front of her and Remus. Harry watched as one mug didn't quite make it to the sink on the other side of the room, but with quick reflexes Remus managed to stop it in mid-air with his wand, just before it hit the floor.

"She has always been a rather private person, bit of a loner at school as I remember." Remus chimed in as he gently floated the cup into the sink. "Maybe celebrating quietly with just her father or a single friend is what she is use to, perhaps what she wanted."

"Well I don't care. Luna is our friend and I'm going to talk to Molly right now and we are going to through her a proper birthday celebration. Better late than never, whether she likes it or not."

At that moment the conversation was interrupted by a loud pop and Dobby appeared standing on the seat immediately to Harry's right.

"Harry Potter sir! Dobby is so glad to see you! Has you been here long?"

"Hullo Dobby. Uh yeah, I came last night. I spent the night here actually."

"Oh Dobby is sad he did not get to see you earlier sir. Yesterday 's Dobby's day off. Dobby just returning now. Dobby will make Harry Potter a big breakfast."

"No time Dobby." Tonks interjected. "We have lots to do. Apparently, Miss Luna's birthday was yesterday, and she didn't bother to tell any of us."

"Miss Luna's birthday? Oh dear, Dobby need to get Miss Luna a present. Dobby likes Miss Luna very much. Miss Luna is a very nice person. Just like you Harry Potter sir"

"Right Dobby, we also need to get over to the Burrow and talk to Molly about throwing her a little birthday party. I want you to come with me so you can help with all the arrangements."

Oh yes, Miss Tonks. Dobby very much wants to help with Miss Luna's party."

Remus got up from the table, "Well, I guess I could go too. I do need to report to Arthur on bit of Order business."

"Anything I should know about Remus?" Harry questioned.

"How about I fill you in later Harry?"

"Fine." Harry stayed seated as Tonks walked over to the hearth and grabbed a handful of flow powdered from a large goblet on the mantle.

"Harry you'd better stay here until Luna comes down. She will probably be wondering were we've all gone off to. Make up an excuse will ya, but don't tell her what we are up to, I think it should be a surprise."

"Er…right." At that Harry watched as Tonks was wisped away into a ball of flames, followed by Remus a moment later.

"Harry Potter sir, Dobby will make you breakfast as soon as Dobby returns." Harry turned his attention to the House Elf still standing next to him.

"Uh…that's alright Dobby, I think I'm just going to get a goblet of pumpkin juice. I'm not really hungry anyway."

"Is Harry Potter certain? Dobby will make Harry Potter whatever he wants."

"Yeah…no Dobby, I really don't want anything. You better get going or Tonks will be wondering what's become of you."

Oh, yes Harry Potter sir, you are right sir. Goodbye Harry Potter sir." And with a loud pop the House Elf was gone.

Harry was only alone for a moment. He had gotten up to pour himself a goblet of pumpkin juice, and just as he was sitting back down Luna came through the kitchen door. She spotted Harry immediately.

"Oh Harry, I see you're awake." She greeted him in her usual dreamy voice as if nothing at all had happen between them the night before.

"Er—Yeah. Good morning Luna." Harry wondered if maybe she had been too drunk last night to remember. But she must have realized something happen when she woke up in his arms this morning.

"Oh yes, good morning to you too Harry. Are you alone in here? I was quite certain I heard Miss Tonks' and Dobby's voices as I was coming down the stairs.

"Uh…yeah, you did and Remus was here as well. They flooed to the Borrow. Uh…er…they needed to talk to Mr and Mrs. Weasley about…er… Order business and all."

"And Dobby went with them?"

"Uh…yeah."

"Mmmm…well that seems odd doesn't it? Dobby usually stays out of Order business." Luna cocked her head and eyed him incredulously making Harry shift a bit in his seat. It's not that Harry really care if Luna suspected him of lying, it was really more the fact that she was looking at him so intently with those large unblinking eyes. He wanted to so badly to ask her about last night; to talk about what had happened.

Without responding to her concerns about Dobby he asked; "So did you sleep alright last night?"

Luna broke her curious stare and smiled, "Oh yes, I slept quite well, I suppose the Firewhiskey had something to do with it of course. I must say though it was quite nice waking up in your arms this morning Harry. Very nice indeed!"

Harry didn't know why he was so surprised that Luna didn't seem at all embarrassed. This was Luna he was talking to; he'd actually never seen Luna get embarrassed before, well except for last night that is, when he had brushed her hair out of her face. And considering _that,_ he thought she might have found this situation to be a bit uncomfortable.

"Harry, did _you_ sleep well? Luna interrupted his thoughts.

"Er…yeah, I did as a matter of fact. I…uh…had a very pleasant dream actually. It…it was about me ridding the world of Voldemort and surviving."

"Well, that is a nice dream, isn't it? Did this dream give you any help as to how you would be able to do that?"

"Er…yeah, well…I dunno, maybe." Harry thought about how Luna was standing next to him in his dream. And about the overwhelming sense of love he had felt. But this train of thought was getting him off track with what he really wanted to talk to Luna about.

"Luna, listen…uh…do you remember much about last night?"

"Of course I do, Harry. I remember everything. I really wasn't as _pissed_ as I may have appeared. And again I want to thank you for a most wonderful evening; it really was one of my very best birthday's in a very long time." Luna cocked her head to one side, "Is there something wrong Harry?" Again, Luna was observing him with those large misty eyes.

"Er…no…uh…not really. It's just that I was wondering…if…well, if you remember me kissing you last night."

"Oh dear, is that why you look like you've just swallowed a Blibbering Humdinger? Harry, there is no need to worry; I understand that those were Firewhiskey induced kisses. I know that we are _just_ friends. You told me so when you invited me to Professor Slughorn's party last year, remember? Don't worry yourself Harry, I know you didn't mean anything by them."

_Just friends_; his own words had come back to bite him. Is that all that Luna was to him? Just a friend? No, Harry didn't think so, not anymore, not after last night.

"And if you are worried about me telling anyone Harry, don't be. I promise what happened last night will be our little secret. Alright? Although, I must say you are a _very_ good kisser Harry. I see why Ginny and Cho had such a hard time getting over you." Harry couldn't help but smile; _Luna_ thought he was a good kisser. Merlin, he wished he could kiss her right now. He wished he could tell her how he felt about her right now. But something was holding him back; something was stopping him from jumping up and confessing to her that he didn't want to be _just_ friend with her anymore; that what he wanted was for her to be at his side always. He wanted to tell her how much he needed her right now. But all that managed to come out of his mouth was—

"Uh thanks….Listen Luna, I am not embarrassed about what happened, it's just that uh…well…Er.—Hey, wait a minute Luna, if I'm such a good kisser, how come you fell asleep?"

"Oh dear…well you see Harry, I didn't actually fall asleep. I was only pretending to be asleep. It was just better that way, really."

"Pretending? Better? Uh…what?"

"Well, it has been my experience that sometimes when boys have had too much to drink that they do things that they later… regret." Luna stated conversationally but then quickly changed to a serene tone, "I didn't want you Harry to have done anything last night that you would have regretted this morning, Well, I suppose kissing me was bad enough. I also knew that I would not have stopped you if…well…if you had tried. You are a gentleman Harry, even when you are quite drunk, and I knew you would not do anything if I was a sleep. So that is what I did, I pretended to be asleep. I hope you are not angry with me Harry. I just didn't want… _anything_ to hurt our friendship."

"Luna, I…uh…" Harry couldn't believe Luna was saying all these things to him. And at the same time Harry had to wonder how far he _would_ have gone if Luna had not pretended to be asleep. She said she would not have stopped him, but why? Did she like him? And hey, what did she mean by _from her experience_? Something immediately tugged at Harry's chest. Had someone tried something with Luna before? Had someone used her before? Harry had to suppress the feeling of wanting to attack someone for hurting this young woman. His mind was reeling.

"Listen, Luna; I don't regret kissing you last night. And… I never will. I'm not angry at you. You were probably right, because I…I don't know if I could have stopped myself. But you have to know that I would never have purposely done anything to hurt you. You are one of my closest friends Luna and I hope that you always will be.

Harry stopped there, but what he really wanted to say was; _'I really want to be more than just friends with you, but there are so many reasons why you and I can't be more than friends right now, but you have to know that those reason have nothing to do with how I actually feel about you; because I do really like you, Luna. I want you to know that you are one of the most important persons in my life right now and I don't ever want to lose you. I need you in my life Luna, now and forever. I'm pretty sure I'm in love with you Luna.'_ That is what Harry really wanted to say, but the words just never came out.

"Oh Harry, I am so glad to hear that; because I consider you to be one of _my_ closest friends. And I just never want that to change." Luna looked at Harry intently, and Harry wondered if she could hear what he was thinking.

"Especially because of a little snogging." She continued and Harry assumed not.

"Well, I suppose I should go check on Master Draco and make sure that he has gotten his breakfast. He really gets quite grouchy when we are late with his meals, not unlike Ronald I'm afraid. Are you planning on staying for awhile Harry?"

"Er…no, I guess not. I s'ppose I should get back to the Burrow as well."

"Oh well, I will say good-bye then. It really was nice spending time with you Harry and I do hope that your visits will be more frequent than in the past. It does get a bit lonely around here at times."

"Listen Luna, I will try to come see you more often. But you know you are always welcome to come to the Burrow and even if I'm not there, there is usually always someone there who would love see you."

"Yes, I suppose you are right, Harry. I just don't want to be a bother on anyone."

"Luna Lovegood, you are never a bother!"

"Thank you Harry. And Harry…well, you do know that if you are ever in need of _anything_ that I am always here for you, to help you however I can?"

"Yes Luna, I know. Thanks for that and thanks for…uh…just being you." And with these words the most beautiful smile spread across Luna's face, which in turn made Harry smile. And for what may have seemed like an eternity to Harry they just stopped and stared at each other; large misty silver eyes meeting brilliant emerald ones.

The stare broke when Luna turned on her feet and said, "Well, good-bye then, Harry Potter." And with that Luna bounced out of the room and up the stairs to check on Draco Malfoy.

Harry sat for a moment and thought about Luna Lovegood. He was her friend. But from that moment on he knew he wanted to be so much more to her. But he also knew he was doing the right thing, for now. What if he _had_ confessed his true feelings for her and then something had happened to him? It would be just one more person in her life that had loved her and left her. He couldn't do that to her, not now. The thought of causing Luna Lovegood any more pain was too much for Harry. He had to protect her in whatever way possible no matter how hard.

Harry may not have known a lot of things about _how_ to defeat Voldemort, but one thing Harry did now know was _why_.

_FIN_

_Thanks for taking the time to read._


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